Spot market prices for US domestic hot dipped galvanized and Galvalume coil are steady week-over-week, but market players don’t believe that prices have bottomed. Overall market sentiment, sources note, is “somewhat bleak.”
It’s been long held that flat rolled steel prices would tick down into Q4; last week, SteelOrbis revised its expectation for where US HRC prices are likely to bottom, from $25-$27 cwt. ($551-$595/mt or $500-$540/nt) ex-mill, to $24-$26 cwt. ($529-$573/mt or $480-$520/nt), ex-mill. Galvanized and Galvalume coil prices are expected to soften in tandem.
The expectation of additional downward revisions, a source said, continues to keep would-be buyers on the sidelines. Market players also say they’re keeping close tabs on where scrap settles during the October buy cycle, as this it likely to play a role in how much downward pressure is placed on US HDG prices in the upcoming month.
| Product | $/cwt | $/mt | $/nt | Delivery | Weekly change |
| US domestic HDG base price | $36-$37 | $794-$816 | $720-$740 | ex-mill | neutral |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | $36-$37 | $794-$816 | $720-$740 | ex-mill | neutral |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | $46-$47 | $1,014-$1,036 | $920-$940 | ex-mill | neutral |